Ludwig Neumayer Gruner Veltliner Der Wein Vom Stein

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Picked the last week in October and at 13.5% alcohol, Neumayer’s 2010 Gruner Veltliner Der Wein Vom Stein – uniting fruit from Berg and Rothenbart – features honeydew melon, passion fruit, grapefruit, and green bean. There is a sweet sense of ripeness and at the same time a slightly detachedly vegetal aspect. Bitterness of grapefruit rind and what seems a veritable mouthful of chalk lend a certain austerity to the lingering but relatively austere finish of this palpably dense bottling, one apt to be best drunk within 3-4 years. (And that having been speculated, let’s see whether perhaps this might gain some clarity and harmony in bottle.) Ludwig Neumayer de-acidified at the lower end of his portfolio, especially in Riesling, but the results retain plenty of pep and incisive refreshment. Given the high extract that resulted from lots of rain, he notes, there was lots of buffering for the acids, and the thick skins and paucity of juice also had an ameliorative effect on acidity, effectively enhancing skin contact even in those grapes that were almost immediately pressed. “In fact,” notes Neumayer, “the material was so dense that you could only press very slowly.” Although his top Rieslings fermented through February, like the rest of this collection they were bottled already in April.Importer: Winemonger, Los Angeles, CA www.winemonger.com

The 2007 Gruner Veltliner Der Wein Vom Stein unites fruit from the Berg (as usual) with that from an old vines mixed planting in the stony Rotenbarth (overwhelmingly Gruner Veltliner) that Neumayer just acquired. Aromas of sweet pea, mint, and blueberry lead to a silken, refined palate dominated by luscious melon, pea, raw hazelnut, and herbs, and finishing with distinctively stony, chalky suggestions. While around 13.5% alcohol, here is another wine of this collection that comes off as light and fresh fruit-dominated. This should be worth following for at least 4-5 years. On account of the hot, dry July, Neumayer says he only did one spraying against mildew and almost no manicuring of the foliage. He picked well into October, since he did not find he was risking such high potential alcohol as his 2006s had reached already in the early days of that month. These wines have what he calls the “cracking” of acidity that invigorates and refreshes. (Note that because of a change in importers at the beginning of this year, prices on these wines were not yet available to me, and the wines themselves will only begin arriving later in the year. Readers should consult my reviews of the 2006s in issue 177 for a ballpark idea of eventual retail prices.) The wines of this years’ Riesling collection chez Neumayer were all very slow to ferment and ended up completely dry at the upper twelve’s in alcohol.Importer: Winemonger, Los Angeles, CA; www.winemonger.com

The 2006 Gruner Veltliner Der Wein Vom Stein leads aromatically with lime, herbs, and gooseberry that momentarily made me think -Sauvignon Blanc.- A lovely counterpoint of creaminess and brightness, honeyed richness and refreshing citricity, along with apricot and gooseberry characterize the palate here, and nut oil flavors also suggest really ripe Sauvignon. Hints of flowers and tobacco emerge as one gives this wine time in the glass, and it is almost sure to gain in bottle, too, for at least 6-8 years. There is an appropriately stony note in the finish, along with more tingling, pungent manifestations of what, for lack of any other possible expression (forget about explanation!), must be termed -mineral.- The luscious yet transparent cast to this Wein Vom Stein would not have been possible, says Neumayer, without botrytis-free ripeness. Neumayer reports that a warm wind blew through the Traisental in the last days of September, after which he began picking on October 3; just over a month later, he was finished. I have been an enthusiastic proponent of the Sauvignon experiments of Neumayer and a number of Danubian growers, but it is impossible to overlook the fact that - in U.S. dollars, at least - excellent Sancerre can still be had for not much more than half the price of the Giess, and that with the Stein, we are in Dagueneau territory. Austrian Sauvignon outside of Styria may still count as an exotic, but if the wine is excellent, its price tends to be set with the high tariff that applies to single-vineyard Styrian Sauvignon in mind.Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

The 2005 Gruner Veltliner Der Wein Vom Stein goes significantly beyond its stable mates in juiciness and succulence – with mouthwatering pulpy citrus and dripping white peach – but also in mineral density, displaying a strikingly chalky, stony substrate. Yet for all of its obvious stuffing, this positively dances on the palate, finishing with lift and clarity. Neumayer’s 2005s are as Riesling-like a group of Gruner Veltliner as I have tasted, and this superb wine will be lots of fun to audition in blind tastings as well as at table. I suspect a dozen or more years in the cellar will do it no harm, either. Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

The 2004 Gruner Veltliner Der Wein Vom Stein is the latest installment of what is always Neumayer’s richest Gruner Veltliner, from various sites but always including high elevation, conglomerate soils. This year’s smells of sugar snap peas and sassafras, along with a distinct whiff of crushed stone. Both juicy and soothingly silky on the palate, this medium-weight Gruner Veltliner features black currant, toasted walnut and herbs in a Sauvignon-like display. The finish here is equally long and deeper than that of its predecessors, featuring distinctly wet stone and pungently peppery notes. Neumayer, located in the little known Traisental south of Krems, has been one of my personal favorite sources for Austrian wine, so it is a pleasure to report that he now has an American importer. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler Importing, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800